Thursday 19 December 2013

An Early Christmas Gift

A friend called round on Tuesday to drop off some Christmas gifts. Among the gifts for me was one I had to open immediately, this beautiful orchid. I already have two orchids, they've been in flower every Christmas for the last five years, but this is the first Christmas they haven't flowered so it's nice to have a new plant which is blooming for the festive period. It's a Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchid, and contrary to what many people believe, they're so easy to care for. I water mine once a week by allowing the water to run straight through and drain off, they don't like to stand in water, and when they've finished flowering I cut the flower spike right down to the base. This encourages them to send up another flower spike and they begin to bloom all over again.

We haven't spent any time at the allotment lately. November and December always seems to be such a busy time of year for us, not only with Christmas on the way but there's always lots of family commitments around this time too. I'm hoping that the weather stays mild over the festive period, with Hubby off work, we should then be able to get a few jobs done.

The wind's back again. We had some big gusts last night as well as a torrential downpour, and it seems as though the windy weather is here to stay for a while yet. A couple of panels have blown out of the greenhouse again, but I don't think it's worth putting it back together just yet, no doubt it'll only blow out again in the coming days with the wind that's forecast. It's lovely and sunny here today though, but very cold.

28 comments:

  1. I'm not a fan of orchids but these look nice.
    I'm not surprised as I've only had a look round mine occasionally, taken some photos then come home.
    Sunny here today, but more rain due on Saturday. Flighty xx

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    1. I'm not a fan of house plants at all, but I do love orchids, I think it's because they're so easy to care for, you can't do them much harm. I'm hoping to get to the plot over Christmas, and we'll go up there on Christmas eve to dig up some parsnips for the big day. It's the winds I hate, they do so much damage.

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  2. I haven't been to the allotment for ages either. I'm hoping to go with the boys during the Christmas break. We had the same weather last night, other half got absolutely soaked, it was like buckets of water being poured down!

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    1. I think we all get a bit more time over the Christmas holiday and it allows us to get on with things which have been neglected lately. The rain here was exactly the same last night, Hubby though it was hailing as is was coming down so hard.

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  3. As you know I have one moth orchid that defies all attempts to get it to flower again - my sister has one as well - both bought at the same time. We have followed all advice to no avail.

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    1. I wonder what's stopping it flowering again. One of my original orchids has just started producing a new flower spike, I'm sure the next one will follow shortly.

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    2. I wonder if as both my sisters and my orchid were born from the same place at the same time whether it is something to do with how they were grown before we bought them.

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    3. It's funny how you each have a stubborn orchid, it must have something to do with it. Don't give up on it yet though, it may surprise you when you least expect it.

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  4. My dad had a small collection of orchids before he gave up entirely, he could make out the flowers against the wall, so they were easy for him to look after. I don't have any house plants at all though my mum used to fill the house with them when I was younger.

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    1. My mum has never been one for plants of any kind, and I'm not really a lover of house plants, but I do love orchids. I don't know what it is about them, perhaps the fact that they're so easy to look after.

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  5. We have one like that too, and it has flowered two years in succession, and the flowers have lasted several weeks. It was originally a Mother's Day present to Jane, but she's not into plants / gardening stuff, so it has fallen to me to look after it!

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    1. I love that orchids flower for such a long period. I'm not really one for house plants but I make an exception where orchids are concerned, they're such beautiful plants. I'd quite like to get a different variety next time and give something else a go.

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  6. DH is the orchid man in our house. The white ones are my favourites.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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    1. If I remember right, you have different kinds of orchids. I'd like to branch out and try some different kinds, they have such beautiful flowers.

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  7. What a lovely orchid, ahha! Now I know why mine never thrived, I let them sit in water.Oh....your POOR greenhouse, I wouldn't put the glass back either at the moment, the weather is far too wild. We've had more horrid freezing winds here......sighs....xxx

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    1. Orchids seem to thrive on neglect, I think that's why they do so well for me. My greenhouse isn't having a very good time at the moment, I just hope that the plants I've got inside are ok.

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  8. Didn't I tell you that there was still time for somebody to give you an orchid as a Christmas gift Jo? :) That's a beauty and I'm sure that you will treasure it.

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    1. You did, you must have a sixth sense, I wasn't expecting one at all so it was a lovely surprise. This one has two flower spikes whereas my other two have only one, it really is a beauty.

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  9. Your poor greenhouse! It must be feeling very battered after recent weeks. Hope you can get it repaired soon. Your orchid is beautiful, I hope that it keeps going for a long time for you. Happy Christmas. xx

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    1. Hubby finishes work for the Christmas holidays at lunchtime today so I think I'll get him to sort it out this afternoon. The wind's dropped and even though we're forecast more windy weather, I can't leave it with panes missing. My other two orchids have been going for five or six years now so I hope that this one lasts just as well.

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  10. I love Phalaenopsis. They are blooming longer than other varieties of orchids.

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    1. I thought this would be a plant that you're very familiar with. The other two orchids I have bloom for months on end, it's rare that they don't have a flower spike in some stage of flower, I hope this one does just as well.

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  11. The weather seems to have calmed down here and I hope it stays that way as it's not pleasant being out in strong winds. A lovely gift of an orchid. We had one that probably thrived on neglect as it produced a whole row of new flowers when we were away on holiday, but
    gradually lost vigour despite being given orchid food.
    If I'm ever fortunate to be given another I will remember your tip to cut it back after flowering.

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    1. The weather's calmed down here too, though it's really very cold today. I do think orchids thrive on neglect, I've never fed any of mine yet they've grown five new flower spikes since the very first one faded.

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  12. These are such beautiful plants to have. Unfortunately I'm not very good with house plants, they tend to die on me so I spend my time admiring other peoples!!

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    1. I'm the same usually but orchids are so easy to keep. I've finally found a house plant which I don't kill.

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  13. I do love orchids but I have run out of space for indoor plants at the moment. It's really stormy here too. Sorry to hear about the greenhouse. We lost a fence panel last year and gave up on the repairs after more gales damaged the cobbled together version, waiting till spring to fix it properly. Hope you and your family have a lovely Christmas. WW x

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    1. They're lovely plants. Hope the storms aren't too bad where you are, just lots of rain here at the moment. I think you've made a wise decision waiting till spring to repair your fence, I think there's more wind on the way so no point making repairs until the better weather comes. Thank you, I hope you have a lovely Christmas too.

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